


Not Asking For A Miracle

by imthehotgirl



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Christmas, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:55:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21887749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imthehotgirl/pseuds/imthehotgirl
Summary: When Liam convinces Theo to pretend to be his boyfriend for the holidays he's not quite prepared for everything that follows.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Comments: 8
Kudos: 119





	Not Asking For A Miracle

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, y'all. So I started writing this a year ago and finally finished it up today. I tried really hard on this one and had a lot of fun with the idea without trying to force the holidays (hopefully) too much. The title is taken from the song 'Miracle' by Chvrches. If you enjoy please kudos or comment. :)

“So, what do you think?” Liam asked, his leg bouncing up and down in a jittery fashion, anxiety building within him as he waited for Theo’s response.

“I think you’re an idiot,” Theo finally replied, pacing in front of Liam as he continued to sit on the couch in his parents’ living room.

“Scott needs me to do this,” Liam insisted. Catching sight of Theo’s scowl, he immediately rectified his answer. “I mean, he needs US to do this.”

“I’m not pack,” Theo answered. 

Liam rolled his eyes. “Maybe not. But you ARE my…” he trailed off.

Theo stared pointedly at him, finally putting a stop to the pacing. “I’m not your boyfriend, Dunbar,” he insisted, the scowl having returned.

Liam rolled his eyes again. “I know that. Nobody’s asking you to be,” he implored.

“Except you. Not even five minutes ago,” Theo muttered dryly.

“FAKE boyfriend! Nothing real about it, okay? What’s the big deal anyway? It’s not like we haven’t done this before. Just five months ago we were doing this in front of Alice’s pack, remember? They loved us. We can do it again,” Liam cajoled.

Theo snorted in disbelief. “That was for two hours, one night, MONTHS ago. Do you honestly expect me to pretend to be into you for an entire week over the holidays and not have one of us found out along the way?!” Theo demanded angrily.

Liam huffed out an annoyed breath. “Alice’s pack trusts us right now. Scott needs us to keep this up so we have more allies against Monroe. He-he understands why we felt pressured to lie last time we met up with them.”

“Well, as long as Scott’s willingly going along with the deception this plan should go just flawlessly then, huh?” Theo spat sarcastically.

“So, you’re on board?” Liam asked hopefully.

“Whatever. Oh, and just so we’re clear I’m not getting you a Christmas present this year.”

“Noted. Thanks, Theo,” Liam replied gratefully.

“Shut up, idiot,” Theo muttered, a faint smile on his face.

**

“Can I drive?” Liam asked as they headed a town over to meet up with Alice’s pack.

“No,” Theo said flatly.

“Oh, come on. Is that anyway to treat your boyfriend?”

Theo glared at him. “You’re not my boyfriend, Dunbar. Change the music,” he demanded, motioning toward the CD player.

In a matter of minutes the song ‘Everyone is Gay’ flooded the truck.

“What the hell is this?” Theo growled.

“A mix I made,” Liam replied with a noncommittal shrug.

“Next song,” Theo barked gruffly.

A few minutes later a new song hit their overly sensitive ears. Liam sat silent in the passenger seat, his grin growing by the second until Simone Battle finally reached the chorus in her song.

“What the fu…? Seriously, what the hell?!” Theo demanded.

“It’s your song, baby,” Liam cackled.

“Don’t call me that!” Theo snapped.

“Sure thing, pumpkin,” Liam said with a smirk before singing along with Simone: “He likes boys. Finally now it’s all making sense.”

Theo’s eyes narrowed in Liam’s direction before letting loose a heavy sigh. “This is going to be a long week.”

**

Once they arrived at the cabin Scott had rented out for all of them Liam climbed from the truck and rounded to the back intent on helping Theo with the bags.

“Relax, babe. I got ‘em,” Theo told him, hoisting the bags onto his shoulder before heading toward the entrance of the cabin, leaving Liam incapable of moving even if he would’ve wanted to.

“Babe?!” he mouthed to himself in disbelief. After the hissy fit Theo had thrown earlier over Liam’s own use of the endearment, he couldn’t believe the chimera was using it so readily.

Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it of his jumbled thoughts Liam followed after Theo intending to ask him what the hell was up with the 180 turn-around.

“Uh, Theo, if you don’t mind my asking, what was that back there?” he asked once the two of them had reached the porch, nodding in the direction of the truck in reference to their earlier interaction. He barely acknowledged the placement of garland decorating the stair rails and wreath on the door as he continued to give Theo a worried, cursory glance.

Theo gave him a tight-lipped smile and grabbed a hold of his hand instead.

“Shut up, Dunbar. I’ll explain myself after we’re alone,” Theo muttered in-between clenched teeth.

“But we are alone. I don’t…” Liam began to protest.

“Would you just trust me?!” Theo snarled softly, glaring at Liam just as the door swung open.

The two of them plastered on fake smiles as both Alice and Scott met them at the door.

“Hey, guys,” Scott said, giving them a knowing smile.

Liam swallowed hard, none too surprised when he felt Theo tighten the hold on his hand. He felt himself relax a bit realizing Theo was freaked out by everything too. If not more so considering the chimera hadn’t wanted to do any of this in the first place.

“Liam. Theo. It’s so good to see you boys again,” Alice declared with a broad smile on her face before pulling each of them into a hug and ushering them inside.

In a matter of minutes, they found themselves standing in the middle of a cozy sitting area with a couch, loveseat and several armchairs, the walls surrounding them also replete with decorations much like the ones they’d come across while outside.

Before Liam could stop him, Theo led them over to the loveseat which was situated directly across from the couch where Scott and Alice sat.

Breathing deeply and slowly through his nose, Liam willed himself to stop trembling from nervousness as he gave Scott a weak smile as he and Theo continued to take in their surroundings. 

“So… How was the drive?” Scott inquired.

“Fine,” Liam squeaked. Upon seeing Scott and Alice’s similar looks of confusion and Theo’s unfamiliar look of concern Liam cleared his throat, flashing another brief, placating smile. “I mean, it-it was…entertaining. Right, baby?” he asked, barely able to hide the smirk that was desperate to make an appearance, directing his question at Theo as he remembered their drive to the cabin.

“Yeah, it was something all right,” Theo muttered in agreement, the annoyance in his eyes subtle yet noticeable if you knew to look for it, which Liam did, feeling as if he’d successfully won another round of the game of gay chicken they were enthralled in. But then Theo focused his attention on Alice, turning his charm on full-force and Liam had to remind himself why they were really there. “So, Alice, how is everyone?”

Alice gave Theo an amused look before answering his question. “They’re good, Theo. The majority of them are out at the store getting food and things we’ll need for the week. Hannah stayed back with me of course,” she said, mentioning her girlfriend.

“Of course,” Theo replied, turning his focus once again to Liam. “I get it,” he murmured in agreement as if he and Alice were even remotely close to talking about the same thing.

Liam swallowed hard again as Theo continued to hold his gaze. The chimera was incredibly gifted at lying, so he silently conceded with himself that Theo had unequivocally won this new round. It took him a moment to remember that the two of them weren’t in fact alone and that Scott was more than likely waiting for him to say something.

“So, uh, Scott is Malia here?” he finally choked out once he’d finally torn his gaze away from his fake boyfriend long enough to level his gaze with his Alpha, bringing up Scott’s girlfriend in hopes that he’d be able to put a stop to whatever the hell had just taken place between him and Theo. He found he was having trouble defining it.

Scott chuckled. “No. You know her, Liam and how she hates waiting around. She practically jumped at the chance to help Stiles and Lydia when they offered to head into town with the others.”

“Right,” Liam muttered, laughing weakly before burying his face in his hands out of embarrassment. He practically jumped out of his skin when he felt Theo’s hand run along his back in a soothing motion.

“Relax, Dunbar. We’ve got a long way to go yet,” Theo murmured in his ear. Liam nodded into his hands in understanding, letting out slow, even breaths in an attempt to calm himself as Theo continued rubbing circles into his back.

“You boys ready to see the rest of the place?” Alice suggested while Scott nodded encouragingly.

“Sure,” Liam agreed, once again taking a hold of Theo’s hand in his own as they got to their feet and followed the two Alphas through the cabin.

Before long they were left alone in what would be ‘their’ room during the duration of their stay. Liam raised an eyebrow in Theo’s direction, expecting the chimera to start explaining himself.

“What?” Theo snapped, glaring at Liam as he began unpacking.

“You tell me. You’re the one who owes me an explanation from earlier,” Liam reminded him.

Theo’s eyes darted toward the closed bedroom door as if he half-expected Alice, Scott or Hannah to come barging in unexpectedly.  
“Shut up,” he whispered harshly, suddenly advancing on Liam. Without warning he shoved Liam onto the bed and was soon hovering over him.

“Theo, what the hell are you…?” Liam wondered aloud, his confusion clouding his features.

“I thought I told you to shut up? I don’t want them to hear, all right?” Theo demanded, making sure to talk directly into Liam’s ear as he spoke.

Liam’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wow. You’re paranoid,” he whispered back.

“No, I’m… It’s not… Dammit, you are infuriating,” Theo huffed out, his annoyance etched all over his face.

“So, what exactly are you trying to say?” Liam asked softly, his eyes dancing with mirth.

Theo’s gaze softened somewhat. “I’m just trying to tell you I don’t trust them,” he finally admitted.

“Alice’s pack?”

Theo nodded in response. “If we’re gonna make this work and look legit you can’t be flinching every time I touch you.”

“Yeah, well, you can’t look like it physically pains you every time I call you by a nickname,” Liam retorted.

Theo sighed in resignation. “Fine. Whatever. Just shut up, Dunbar,” he muttered.

“And you’re still trying to save me…” Liam murmured, realization dawning on him about the lengths Theo was willing to go to keep him safe. “Aren’t you?”

Averting his eyes, Theo rolled off of him and headed towards the door without answering Liam’s question. “I think they’re back,” he mumbled instead as the faint sound of other voices greeted them.

And before Liam could even begin to protest, Theo was out the door.

**

Later that night they sat around a large table, Scott and Alice each at the respective ‘heads’ while the rest of the packs intermingled with one another. But to continue selling their act of ‘lovesick pups’ Liam and Theo sat next to one another, Theo even going as far as to pull Liam’s chair even closer to his own and draping his arm over Liam’s shoulders once they’d finished eating dinner.

Christmas music played faintly in the background as they talked with one another. And for some reason (Liam blamed Stiles a bit) the hot topic of conversation was Liam and Theo’s relationship.

“By the look of things, Scott, you’ve welcomed Theo back into your life and your pack with open arms. To hear Stiles tell it this one can’t be trusted,” Jesse Carmichael, one of Alice’s betas said, nodding in Theo’s direction.

Liam watched Scott cock his head slightly and his brow furrow in confusion at Jesse’s accusation. “Theo is an ally. I trust him because Liam does. And because he’s helped us out against Monroe. He’s been there when we’ve needed him, and he’s saved Liam’s life several times over,” Scott insisted. 

“Yeah, Scott, but he nearly killed you, remember?” Stiles shot back. “I don’t understand how either of you can trust him after what he’s done.” The entire group grew silent at Stiles’ statement.

Liam growled. “Are you ever going to let that one go, Stiles?! If Scott can forgive Theo, why the hell can’t you?” He could feel his anger coursing through him, but he couldn’t stop it.

“Hey. Hey, Dunbar. Look at me, sweetheart.”

Liam could hear Theo talking to him, but it sounded far enough away that it was having no impact on him. And being surrounded by the company that they were Theo couldn’t exactly knock him out with a single punch as had become their ‘normal’ of sorts.

Another growl ripped through him and before he could react Theo had grabbed him by the back of the neck so that they could’ve been said to have been breathing the same air.

“Look at me, dammit,” Theo repeated, growling himself.

Liam could feel his limbs shaking almost violently, rocking forward until his forehead was touching Theo’s, physically grounding himself even further as their noses gently brushed against one another. As his breathing finally evened out, Liam sat back, relieved to feel Theo’s hands continuing to grasp his arms.

He felt his heart flutter seeing Theo’s mouth crick upward. “All good?” he asked hesitantly.

Theo nodded. “Welcome back, babe.”

“You’re not just his boyfriend. You’re his anchor,” Lila Hanson, Alice’s other beta said, clearly a bit stunned to have witnessed something like Liam and Theo’s bond in action.

“Um, yeah. Yeah, he is,” Liam croaked in reply, giving Theo a small smile of gratitude.

“You ready for bed, Dunbar?” Theo murmured.

Liam sighed softly in relief, nodding. “More than, pumpkin,” he agreed.

Waiting for Theo’s lip to curl up in disgust or any other nonverbal signs over the use of the endearment, Liam was pleasantly surprised just to see Theo shake his head and his eyes dancing with mirth.

Without another word Theo helped Liam to his feet, taking ahold of his hand and began leading them toward their bedroom, Liam waving tiredly to the others.

In a matter of minutes they stood in the bedroom, the door mercifully closed behind them.

“You need any help?” Theo wondered aloud, gesturing to Liam’s wardrobe.

Liam snorted, toeing off his shoes and pulling his shirt up over his head before tossing it to the floor, quickly shucking his jeans and socks as well. “I’m not an invalid, Theo. And we’re also not out there anymore,” he continued, nodding in the direction of where the rest of the pack was still mingling with one another. “You can drop the act,” he added.

“Yeah, whatever,” Theo muttered, beginning to undress as well until all he wore was a t-shirt and his underwear. Liam reared back slightly, the stench of despondency seeming to smack him in the face.

“Theo,” he protested softly.

“What?” Theo snarled at him, his eyes flashing gold momentarily.

“I just… I meant, you don’t have to keep pretending to be something you’re not for my sake, all right?” Liam implored.

He watched Theo’s shoulders droop slightly before sighing heavily and giving him a half-hearted smile. “All right, Dunbar, whatever you want.”

Liam smiled back at the chimera as he walked toward the bed and pulled back the covers. “Great. You ready for bed?”

Theo nodded, grabbing a few pillows from off the bed and tossing them into the armchair located in a corner of the room.

“What the hell are you doing?” Liam demanded, raising an eyebrow in Theo’s direction.

“Isn’t it obvious, Dunbar? I’m going to sleep. At least I was trying to,” Theo muttered, his mouth pulled down into a frown.

“Not over there you’re not. Just because we’re not really a couple doesn’t mean we can’t share a bed for fuck’s sake. It’s just for a few days. My mom would kill me if I let you sleep on that thing. You have your own bed back at my parents’ house, remember? Get in the bed, Theo,” Liam demanded.

“You’re certainly a persistent little shit,” Theo grumbled, rolling his eyes as he grabbed the pillows and made his way back over to the bed, climbing into it beside Liam.

“Thanks, Theo,” Liam murmured, flashing his fake boyfriend a blinding smile.

“Yeah, okay,” Theo replied tiredly. “Good night.”

“Good night, pumpkin,” Liam said as the two of them dissolved into quiet laughter for several minutes before finally falling asleep.

** 

Liam awoke the next morning feeling a bit warmer than usual. It took him a moment to realize that Theo had gravitated toward him in sleep and was now plastered to his back.

He was having a hard time (partly from still being groggy from having just woken up) figuring out where Theo began and he ended, they were so intertwined. He could feel Theo’s nose buried in the back of his neck and the arm the chimera had flung across his body was a comforting weight.

Being a werewolf, Liam naturally craved the feeling of pack close by and had always slept better whenever that was the case.

He’d never voiced this particular piece of information aloud to anyone, but he always managed to get his best nights sleep when he was with Theo. It might’ve had something to do with Theo being his anchor. Liam wasn’t sure. He just knew he needed Theo in a way he’d never needed anyone else before.

Theo may not have been pack (more specifically a part of the McCall pack), but from the minute he’d sacrificed himself as bait against the Ghost Riders Liam had begun seeing him that way. Rules be damned.

“Do we have to go back out there?” Theo whined softly. Liam drew in a sharp yet inaudible breath of surprise. He hadn’t even realized the chimera was awake. Swallowing thickly, he silently willed his heart to slow its sudden rapid-fire pace. “Are you okay, Dunbar?”

“What?” he choked out, his eyes slamming shut for a moment before he eventually rolled over onto his side and met Theo’s worried gaze head-on.

“Your heartrate. It was sped up…racing. You good?” Theo demanded of him.

Liam sighed before nodding. “Yeah. Just got freaked out for a minute,” he admitted. 

“By what?” Theo wondered aloud.

“By you. I didn’t…I hadn’t realized you were awake yet,” Liam replied, flashing Theo a sheepish smile.

“Really?” Theo asked gleefully. “I scared you, huh?”

Liam scowled, pressing Theo’s face into his pillow for a moment. “Oh, shut up,” he muttered as Theo laughed.

“But seriously, do we have to go back out there?” Theo insisted, nodding in the direction of the door warily as they began hearing the others get up and move about the cabin.

“Probably. I mean, Scott would think we were being pretty rude, don’t you think? Not to mention Alice and Hannah. And you might not want to, but I want to be with the pack. It’s Christmastime, baby,” Liam pleaded.

Theo’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t call me that in private,” he snarled softly.

Liam chuckled. “Glad to see you’ve returned to your normal, surly behavior. Let’s get going.”

Theo groaned, this time willingly burying his face in his pillow. “Fine. Whatever. Guess I’m ready to see if we can make either pack toss up their Christmas cookies with how over the top sickly sweet we can be to one another,” he mumbled, glaring daggers at the bedroom door as if it were personally responsible for putting him in this situation.

A few minutes later the two of them entered the kitchen, Theo once again holding Liam’s hand.

“Morning, boys. Sleep well?” Hannah greeted them with a smile, bringing over two plates piled high with food as they sat down at the table.

“Yeah. Yeah, we did,” Liam reassured her before taking a bite of the pancakes on his plate.

“So, guys, just to catch you up on what you’ve missed, to solidify the trust and bond between packs we’re going to split up into groups today and work on fighting techniques, strategies and any other potential battleplans you can come up with for taking down Monroe and her men,” Scott explained.

Liam swallowed hard, suddenly remembering the conversation he and Theo had had in hushed tones with one another just the day before about how the chimera didn’t trust Alice’s pack. He had a horrible sinking feeling that what was about to transpire would not be good for either him or Theo.

**

A short while later Liam was trudging through the woods, Theo by his side, who had been murmuring things in his ear to make him laugh. At one point he’d nearly choked when Theo casually slid his hand into the back pocket of Liam’s jeans, pulling him impossibly close.

Stiles and Jesse followed at their heels, neither of them seeming thrilled with the team assignments. 

“What the hell are we doing here again?” Jesse demanded of them.

Liam sighed heavily, rolling his eyes before finally turning his attention to the other werewolf.

“Once we reach the clearing up ahead we’re going to practice sparring for a bit and then map out possible battleplans,” he said, not tempting to hide his irritation in the slightest. He didn’t like this guy. At all. And if he had to guess he was pretty sure Jesse had picked up on his disdain.

“I seriously don’t get this. Why would Alice and Scott put me with the three of you? A beta who’s barely a threat, a chimera who can’t be trusted and a human whose main form of protection, other than the werewolves he surrounds himself with, is a baseball bat. Yeah, I’m shaking in my boots here, fellas,” Jesse muttered.

“Whoa, Jesse. No need to get nasty, man. We’re all friends here,” Stiles protested.

“Right. Which is exactly why you’re at odds with him constantly, huh? Because you’re all such good friends?” Jesse demanded, nodding at Theo.

Liam slowly turned around to face the other werewolf, his eyes glowing yellow.  
“Back off, Jesse,” he snarled.

Jesse snorted. “Ooh, I’m so scared,” he said before his fangs descended and he began to advance on Liam.

“You should be,” Stiles said, lifting his bat up and bashing the werewolf over the head. Jesse immediately whipped around, letting out a roar. “Oh, shit,” Stiles muttered with a weak chuckle before stumbling backwards as Jesse started heading in his direction.

“Hey, jerkoff,” Theo spoke up, immediately punching the werewolf in the face once Jesse turned around to face him, sufficiently knocking him out.

“Okay. Um, yay teamwork, I guess. But what exactly are we gonna tell Scott?” Liam asked, his eyes moving back and forth between Theo and Stiles and Jesse, who continued to lay unconscious on the ground. 

“Relax, Dunbar. We’ll head back now and tell Scott some version of the truth once we see him,” Theo said in a reassuring tone.

Liam’s eyes widened in shock. “WHAT?” he choked out hoarsely. 

Theo rolled his eyes. “I’m kidding, babe. I wouldn’t make either you or Stiles lie to Scott like that,” he insisted earnestly, running his knuckles slowly along Liam’s jaw.

“Right,” Liam murmured in agreement, hoping Theo couldn’t hear his heart skittering around like crazy, and if he could that he would just assume it was from the initial shock of his joke and not the fact the chimera had once again invaded Liam’s personal space and called him a nickname without any encouragement. “What’re we gonna do about Jesse?” he finally asked.

Theo shrugged. “Leave him for dead?” he suggested, winking at Stiles.

“Works for me,” Stiles readily agreed, unable to hide his ear-to-ear grin at the suggestion.

“Like hell we are,” Liam growled, his eyes flashing yellow again.

“Yet again, I was kidding, Liam. You’ve gotta calm down, all right? You’re not alone in this. I promise,” Theo implored.

Liam drew in a shuddering breath, nodding at Theo’s words.

“And hey, if it helps it already looks like you’re gonna make a damn good Alpha someday soon. Or a mom,” Stiles offered.

Liam let loose a brief chuckle. “Thanks, Stiles.”

“Let’s get headed back,” Theo said, nearly effortlessly hoisting Jesse up onto his shoulder, gripping the werewolf around the legs before taking a hold of Liam’s hand with his free one.

“I think I owe you guys an apology,” Stiles said as they began walking back towards the cabin.

Liam squeezed Theo’s hand before he spoke. “You mean for what you said last night at dinner?”

“Yeah,” Stiles mumbled in agreement, flashing a half-hearted smile. “To Theo especially. You have changed. And I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to recognize it. If Scott and Liam are able to move past it and forgive you than I should be able to, right? I’m just… I’ve been feeling jealous,” he admitted.

Liam shared a look of confusion with Theo. “Jealous? Of what?” he eventually asked when it became clear Stiles wasn’t about to be forthcoming with the answer on his own.

“Of you and Theo. And the fact you’re together.”

“Okay… What? I’m sorry, but you kind of lost me at jealousy, I think,” Theo said.

Liam’s throat constricted, and his eyes widened momentarily as something occurred to him. “It’s Derek, isn’t it? You like him.”

Stiles nodded. “Yeah… Yeah, I have for uh, a long time now,” he murmured in agreement, sighing heavily.

“But what about Lydia?” Theo asked softly.

“I love her and always will, Theo. She’s been the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time, and I don’t regret a single moment we’ve had together. With Derek it’s always been more of a ‘what if’ situation. And to see you and Liam together it just brought all those feelings back to the surface, I guess. Despite my own heartache I am happy the two of you have one another,” Stiles said.

“Thanks, Stiles. Yeah, we, uh, we’re a pretty great couple,” Theo said, flashing Liam a weak smile while squeezing his hand. Liam just stared back at the chimera, unsure he’d heard correctly for a minute. Clearing his throat, he gave Theo a tight-lipped smile. He’d heard the other boy’s heart skip a beat. He’d caught Theo in a lie and he was determined to figure out why.

**

Once they reached the cabin Theo dropped Jesse unceremoniously onto the cabin’s front porch. And Liam was fairly certain Theo would’ve left the werewolf there if he hadn’t intervened.

“Theo!” he hissed, giving his fake boyfriend a pointed look.

“What?” Theo asked innocently before his smirk made an appearance. Sighing and rolling his eyes in annoyance he motioned Stiles forward. “Help me out here, man.”

Within a matter of minutes Theo and Stiles had lifted Jesse upward and each respectively put one of his arms over their shoulders, slowly moving forward as Liam held the cabin door open for them.

“I smell sugar,” Stiles said once they entered the cabin, his eyes immediately narrowing and his mouth setting into a mild frown.

“They set us up!” Liam realized, his mouth falling open in shock, feeling scandalized.

Theo, meanwhile, much to Liam’s annoyance, burst into uncontrollable laughter.

“This isn’t funny!” Liam protested, watching Theo and Stiles put Jesse onto the loveseat in the sitting room before the three of them headed toward the kitchen.

“Oh, come on, Dunbar. It’s a little funny,” Theo wheedled, pulling Liam close once again, bumping his nose along the length of Liam’s neck, his lips lightly brushing along the length of exposed skin he found there.

Liam bit down on his lip, breathing deeply through his nose, praying his heart not to betray him.

“All right. You have a point,” he reluctantly agreed as they entered the busy kitchen. Silently taking in his surroundings Liam saw Scott, Malia, Alice and Hannah stationed in different parts of the room, in the middle of decorating Christmas cookies.

“Where’re Lila and Lydia?” Stiles asked aloud, the commotion around them suddenly coming to a standstill.

“Lila’s taking a shower. Cooking got kind of out of hand earlier, so we suggested she get cleaned up,” Hannah said with a chuckle.

“And Lydia said she wanted to work on wrapping some presents, so she might be a bit yet,” Alice explained.

“I thought they would’ve killed each other,” Malia said, seeming disappointed that Liam, Stiles and Theo were standing in front of her, seemingly unscathed.

Scott’s smile at seeing them having returned from their excursion into the woods quickly melted into a frown, while his brow furrowed in concern. “Guys, where’s Jesse?”

Theo and Stiles turned toward Liam expectantly. “Really?” he demanded, glaring at them both.

“Relax, Dunbar. You’ve got this,” Theo insisted softly, squeezing Liam’s shoulders reassuringly.

Clearing his throat, Liam met Scott’s gaze head-on and proceeded to tell his Alpha exactly what had transpired between the four of them in the woods.

“Well, I’m not thrilled by what Stiles and Theo did to Jesse while you were out there or what Jesse said to provoke you all, I’m not too surprised. I am glad that you two have come to an understanding though,” Scott said, smiling in relief at Stiles and Theo.

“And once he wakes up I’ll talk to Jesse about his behavior,” Alice told them, a mild frown cutting across her features.

“Great. We good?” Liam asked, sighing in relief when both Alphas nodded. “Come on, Theo,” he muttered, taking a hold of the chimera’s hand in his own, dragging Theo off in the direction of their bedroom.

Once the door had closed behind them, Theo turned a wolfish grin on Liam. “Am I about to get lucky?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Liam sighed heavily, rolling his eyes. “No,” he mumbled in response, his face warming slightly under Theo’s scrutiny as he sat down on the bed.

“Well, you do know the rest of them are going to think we’re having sex,” Theo replied.

“I don’t care what they’re thinking. I wanted to ask you something,” Liam said.

Theo shot him a look of curiosity. “Yeah? What’s up?”

“Your heart skipped a beat when you told Stiles that ‘we’re a great couple’. You lie all the time, Theo. Or at least you used to, and none of us caught on to the fact you were lying because you’re able to keep your heartbeat in check a hell of a lot better than the rest of us. Right? What the hell?” Liam demanded, confusion flooding his features as he spoke.

Theo’s eyes moved to the floor. “It’s nothing, Liam. Don’t worry about it,” he whispered hoarsely.

Liam’s brow furrowed in concern. “Now I am going to worry about it. You hardly ever call me by my first name. What the hell is going on with you?”

“I said it was nothing, all right? Would you just drop it?!” Theo growled, keeping his voice low.

“Not until you tell me what’s going on,” Liam replied, a scowl on his face.

“What’re you gonna do, SWEETHEART? Beat it out of me?” Theo snarled, the endearment sounding vulgar when it left his mouth.

“Maybe I should. You’re being a dick,” Liam retorted.

“I’m the dick? That’s rich. Did you forget you’re the one insisting we discuss something I clearly have no interest in talking about?” Theo reminded him.

Liam immediately sobered, averting his gaze for a moment. “Dammit. I’m sorry, Theo. I shouldn’t have pressured you.”

“Thanks, Dunbar,” Theo murmured gratefully, finally sitting down next to Liam.

Liam sighed softly, relief flooding him upon hearing Theo call him by his last name. It was truly a small thing, but it meant so much to him.

The two of them stretched out on the bed. “I think all the lying is getting to me. I shouldn’t’ve… I shouldn’t’ve insisted you do this, Theo. I really am a dick,” Liam said.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be,” Theo told him.

“Okay,” Liam agreed. After a lengthy yet comfortable silence had settled over them, he spoke up again. “So, I’m ready whenever you are.”

Theo grew still next to him. “Ready for what?” he asked warily.

“Well, we came in here to have sex, right?” Liam asked with a smirk.

Theo snorted. “You’re an idiot, Dunbar.”

“Now, pumpkin, is that really any way to talk to your boyfriend?” Liam teased.

“Oh, ‘pumpkin’ this,” Theo growled playfully, immediately rolling on top of Liam before starting to tickle him.

Liam protested, giggling until he was breathless. A few minutes later the two of them became quieter, the only noise in the room their ragged breathing.

“Theo,” Liam whispered huskily, his eyes hooded as Theo leaned forward, their noses lightly bumping against one another, Theo slowly drawing even closer to him until their lips were a hairsbreadth apart.

“Dunbar,” Theo said reverently, his eyes fluttering closed. 

That one word falling from the chimera’s lips spoken in that particular way seemed to kickstart something hidden deep within Liam and he let out a low growl of desperation.  
“Theo, please. Please, baby,” he begged softly.

Theo’s eyes snapped open, widening in surprise… And fear? “I-I…” he stammered, seeming to ignore his trembling limbs as he quickly clambered off the bed and headed in the direction of the door.

“Theo! Hold on a minute. We need to…” Liam called out anxiously. “Talk about this,” he mumbled, sighing in defeat as Theo left him alone.

**

In the days that followed Theo continued to play the dutiful boyfriend whenever they were with the others, but when it was just the two of them he avoided Liam at all costs. It left Liam’s head spinning from moment to moment and confused the hell out of him.

And yet, Liam would wake up each morning early enough to enjoy the feeling of Theo wrapped around him before the chimera awoke and put some healthy distance between them again.

Liam was half-tempted to bring up the fact to Theo that even if he tried to put space between them during daylight hours, he subconsciously wanted something entirely different once the sun went down.

But as tempted as Liam may have been to broach the subject, he knew that if he did it would just push Theo further away. And he could almost guarantee Theo would use it as an excuse to sleep in the armchair like he’d originally intended. So, because he enjoyed waking up next to Theo every morning Liam managed to keep his mouth shut. He just wasn’t sure how long he’d manage to hold out before either he or Theo (or the both of them) snapped.

**

With Christmas two days away both packs were getting more and more excited. Presents began appearing underneath the tree in the sitting room.

And despite Theo’s statement to Liam earlier in the week about not trusting Alice’s pack Liam was pleased to see the chimera making a real effort with them. Including Jesse, who continued to be a royal douche to him, Theo and Stiles.

Later that night they all sat in the sitting room talking amongst themselves while Christmas music yet again played softly on the CD player they had set up.

Rather than sitting on the loveseat Theo had opted to sit in one of the armchairs in the corner of the room, gently tugging Liam after him until Liam was sitting in his lap.

“What’s up?” he murmured.

Theo shrugged, his fingers slowly dancing along Liam’s palm in a distracted manner before their hands became interlocked with one another. “Nothing. I just wanted you close,” he finally replied.

“Oh, okay,” Liam said softly. He couldn’t remember ever feeling so confused or frustrated when it came to trying to understand the motives of someone else. “Theo?”

“Hmm?” came Theo’s mumbled hum of a response.

“Do you want to go somewhere and talk?” Liam asked, suddenly feeling desperate to get Theo alone so they could hash out whatever the hell had Theo acting so bizarre. Liam missed his friend.

“Not really, babe. I’m good here,” Theo murmured, his nose brushing against Liam’s cheek as he kissed Liam’s neck.

Liam swallowed, resignation flooding him as the realization that Theo would willingly play pretend rather than have a genuine conversation with him overwhelmed him.

“Whatever. I’m going to bed,” he muttered, kissing the side of Theo’s mouth before getting to his feet and heading in the direction of their bedroom.

He’d nearly fallen asleep a little while later when he heard Theo enter the bedroom. The chimera’s nighttime routine had become so familiar to Liam that he’d practically been lulled to sleep again until he felt the bed dip as Theo crawled into bed next to him.

And all hope was utterly lost when Theo spoke. “I don’t know what the hell crawled up your ass and decided to take up residence there, but if you leave me hanging like that in front of everybody again, Dunbar, I WILL kick your ass, you friggin’ jerk,” he snarled.

Sighing heavily, Liam finally rolled over to face Theo, relieved they could only make out each other’s silhouettes in the darkened room. Theo didn’t need to see the heartbreak that he knew would inevitably be etched flawlessly into his features in that moment.

“Right. You ignore me for DAYS and I’m suddenly the bad guy,” Liam retorted. “I’m not the one who’s forgotten we’re just pretending here. But it seems like you have,” he continued, gesturing to Theo who lay next to him in the bed. “If all of this is such an inconvenience for you get the hell out.”

“What?” Theo’s voice cracked at the question, sounding broken to Liam’s ears. 

Liam swallowed back more venomous words on the tip of his tongue, fighting back the tears welling at the edges of his vision. Sighing again, he rolled over onto his side. “You heard me. Get out,” he choked out.

“Are you insane? No,” Theo ground out between clenched teeth.

“Oh, of course, because we have to keep up appearances, don’t we?” Liam spat.

“No, because I’m not going to leave you like this when you’re obviously upset, you little shit,” Theo replied. “If anyone should be angry right now it should be me. You’re the one who dragged me into this, remember? But despite everything, you’re still my best friend,” he admitted softly.

Before Liam could prevent them, the words were flying from his mouth. “You could’ve fooled me. Dick.” He felt Theo go still next to him thanks to his choice of words. He knew immediately that he’d gone too far, but before he could use his dumbass ways as an excuse, Theo spoke.

“Shut UP,” the chimera growled, effortlessly rolling on top of him, pinning Liam to the bed. Liam whimpered softly in relief when Theo leaned forward, kissing him hungrily on the mouth.

In a matter of minutes, Theo had tugged Liam’s t-shirt up over his head, tossing it carelessly to the floor before leaning in again to kiss him. With shaking hands, Liam reached underneath the front of Theo’s Henley, becoming slightly lightheaded when his fingers touched skin.

“Relax, Dunbar,” Theo murmured into Liam’s mouth, grinning into the kiss as he helped Liam remove his shirt. “Do you want me to get you off, baby?” he whispered huskily into Liam’s ear.

Whimpering yet again, Liam bit down on his lower lip, elated upon hearing the endearment fall so easily from Theo’s mouth. “Please, Theo,” he pleaded.

Without any more prompting, Theo pushed Liam’s underwear aside until he had ample room to maneuver. Kissing Liam languidly on the mouth for a few brief seconds until beginning to slowly travel down the length of his chest, Theo dropped kisses lightly, yet reverently, his fingers brushing against the expanse of exposed skin gently.

Liam’s breathing became shallow and uneven the closer Theo came to hitting pay dirt.

Once Theo’s ministrations had reached his stomach Liam felt certain the chimera would finally put him out of his misery and give him some relief instead. But considering this was Theo he was dealing with he also had to begrudgingly admit to himself that it wouldn’t be that easy.

When Theo took ahold of him, Liam groaned appreciatively, waiting on tenterhooks for the other boy to start stroking him, but then Theo moved on to kissing his inner thighs, which left Liam feeling even more wound up.

Drawing in a sharp breath, he glared at Theo, wiling his trembling limbs to stop shaking and silently begged himself not to shoot his load all over Theo’s smirking face. It’d be a real mood killer and he didn’t need that on his conscience after the two of them had made such strides in their relationship in the past few minutes alone.

“Hold on, babe. Just a little bit longer,” Theo promised him, making quick work of removing his own underwear. As promised, he was back between Liam’s legs a moment later.

“Theo,” he whispered in surprise once he realized Theo fully intended to go down on him. With the heat of Theo’s mouth mercifully on his length after days of wishing for this very thing Liam found himself incapable of anything other than inane babbling.

Catching sight of Theo’s hooded gaze and feeling the other boy’s self-assured smirk on the underside of his cock, Liam knew he couldn’t last much longer. “Th-Theo, I-I’m…” he managed to spit out. He simultaneously heard and felt Theo hum in understanding and that was all it took for him to completely unravel.

A few minutes later Theo crawled back up Liam’s body, searching out his mouth in the dark. Tasting himself on Theo’s lips left Liam’s head spinning.

Pulling away from the other boy’s mouth for a moment, Liam reached up, cupping Theo’s cheek. “My turn to reciprocate?”

“Hell yes,” Theo acquiesced, leaning into kiss Liam deeply as Liam reached out, quickly stroking Theo to completion. Moaning into Liam’s mouth as he came undone, Theo shuddered before burying his face against Liam’s neck.

“Theo, we good?” Liam murmured, his fingers running soothingly along the nape of Theo’s neck.

Theo huffed out an amused laugh before completely sagging into the bed, gathering Liam in his arms, brushing his lips against Liam’s bare shoulder, their legs becoming intertwined as they lay together. “More than, Dunbar,” he readily agreed, sighing in satisfaction, his breathing evening out.

Liam, for his part, couldn’t stop grinning. He knew he and Theo had a lot to discuss, but it could wait until morning.

**

When Liam awoke the next morning, he was facing Theo, his arm draped over the other boy’s lower body as Theo continued to sleep, blissfully unaware he was being watched.

Unable to stop himself, Liam first kissed Theo’s forehead, then his cheeks, nose and finally his lips. Theo slowly blinked his eyes open, a lazy, contented smile on his face as Liam held his gaze.

“Mornin’, baby,” Liam murmured, pressing another tender kiss to Theo’s mouth.

“Morning,” Theo replied softly. “So last night was…”

“Awesome?” Liam asked, smirking at Theo.

Theo let loose a hoarse bark of laughter. “Yeah. Yeah, it was pretty great,” he agreed.

“Only pretty great?” Liam questioned, raising an eyebrow in Theo’s direction.

“It was worth the wait,” Theo amended.

Liam sucked in a breath, his eyes widening at Theo’s admission. He hadn’t expected the chimera to be so forthright considering the near uphill battle they had waged to reach this moment. But they had gotten here in the end and that was what counted. His features immediately softened a few seconds later. “Yeah. Yeah, it was.”

“It’s Christmas Eve,” Theo finally said after another brief kissing session between them.

“Yup,” Liam murmured in agreement. “So, uh, we’re okay then?” he asked, struggling to keep the anxiousness from his voice.

Theo chuckled, running his hand along Liam’s arm. “Like I said last night, Dunbar, we’re good.”

“Right. But, uh, what does that mean for us? Are we still faking being a couple since we’re just best friends and last night was a one time thing? Or are we more to each other now? Do you hate me? What? Talk to me!” Liam exclaimed, his fear of not getting to the root of Theo’s attitude from days past resurfaced the longer he spoke.

Theo’s eyes crinkled up adorably at the edges before he began laughing uncontrollably. “Oh my God. You really are an idiot sometimes, huh?” he asked, his amusement continuing to flood his features. “I wanted this with you, Liam. All of it, okay? Sometime over this week pretending to be your boyfriend, I just, I realized I wanted it to be real. That my feelings for you have become very real. And that freaked me out because I didn’t want to be responsible for ruining our friendship since it means so much to me. You mean so much to me. So, I tried to put some distance between us, which obviously backfired big time, because, well, here we are,” he said, motioning between them.

Liam lay still for several minutes, silently processing everything Theo had told him. “You want to be my boyfriend?”

“Only if you’ll be mine,” Theo replied, kissing Liam again.

Liam grinned in response. “Of course, I will. And I hope you know I’m perfectly okay with the fact that you lied to me.”

Theo’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Don’t you remember when all of this started you told me if you were going along with us pretending to be together that you weren’t giving me a Christmas present this year? Well, you just did,” Liam explained softly, grinning into their next kiss.

“Wow, you’re a sap,” Theo remarked.

“Yeah, YOUR sap,” Liam retorted, smirking at his boyfriend.

“Definitely,” Theo murmured in agreement.

“Christmas is going to be great this year,” Liam said.

“It already is,” Theo said. “You want to join the rest of the pack?”

“Hmm. Maybe in a little bit. First, I wanted to give you your Christmas present early too,” Liam said, his gaze turning predatory before he rolled on top of Theo, pushing him into the mattress as he proceeded to show his boyfriend just how real his feelings were too.

**

The next day consisted of the two packs exchanging presents, eating an abundance of Christmas cookies, indulging themselves on their favorite holiday movies and preparing dinner.

When Liam looked back on it years later he still couldn’t shake the warm feeling the memories presented or the idea that Alice’s pack felt like an extended family.

But that particular night would always be special to him. Namely because he couldn’t deny both he and Theo were deeply at ease with one another in a way they hadn’t been prior to finally admitting how they truly felt.

Shortly before dinner Theo had wordlessly grabbed his hand and dragged him off into the living room.

“What’s up, pumpkin?” he asked, his tone still holding a note of teasing at the nickname he’d adopted for Theo over the course of their stay at the cabin. It didn’t escape his notice that they stood in the entryway between the living room and the stairwell.

“Why don’t you tell me?” Theo whispered huskily, his lips a hairsbreadth away from Liam’s mouth, his smirk not only prevalent in his features but in his voice as he spoke as well.

Liam glanced upward and saw mistletoe hanging above their heads. “Well, isn’t that convenient?” he observed just before Theo’s mouth covered his own in a deep yet brief kiss. “So, uh, you want to hear the good news?” he asked a few seconds later when they’d come up for air.

Theo raised an eyebrow in his direction. “Why do I get the feeling I’m going to hate what you’re about to tell me?” he asked warily.

“Alice and her pack want us all to get together next Christmas,” Liam replied, giving Theo a weak smile.

“Dammit,” Theo muttered with a heavy sigh. “I’m not pack, Liam. I mean, I know I’ve always acted like it doesn’t bother me that Scott and the others just see me as an ally. But I-I…I’ve always secretly wanted to be…” he whimpered softly, trailing off midsentence. 

Liam’s heart clenched at Theo’s admission. “Theo, don’t you think I know that? I mean, don’t you get it yet? You’ve been a part of MY pack from the moment I realized I could trust you. You, Mason and Corey, okay? Sure, it’d probably be a hell of a lot more impressive if I was a legit Alpha instead of the ‘Alpha in Charge while everyone else is off discovering themselves’ or whatever, but, uh, I need you guys, Theo. I need YOU. You’re my anchor for a reason, idiot. I love you and nothing anyone else ever tells me about us is going to change how I feel,” he insisted.

“You’re the idiot, Dunbar,” Theo retorted. “But, uh, Stiles was right when he told you that you’ll make a damn good Alpha. You already are,” he continued, his eyes softening the longer they held each other’s gazes. “I love you too. Merry Christmas, baby.”

“Merry Christmas, pumpkin,” Liam said, grinning into their next kiss.

THE END


End file.
